


Paperwork can wait

by Altman



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, I said I liked this ship and I stand by that statement, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, Relationship insecurity, Swearing, it's good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 05:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10074431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altman/pseuds/Altman
Summary: Dave Strider should probably be doing paperwork.However, relationship-work definitely comes first. And there are still a lot things that need to be talked about...It's hard, making it work, but worth it in the end.





	1. In which paperwork is ignored

**Author's Note:**

> So, this will be a three-part story.  
> The first chapter will focus on Jade and Dave, the second on Dave and Karkat, the third on all three of them.

**== > Dave, consider how lucky you are.**

_Goddamn lucky_ , that’s the first thing that comes to your mind.

Because you fucking did it, didn’t you?

You all beat that stupid game, and now you’re free to do, well, whatever.

And at the moment, you’re trying your hardest **_not_** to kiss your wonderful girlfriend.

Because you, being the responsible God you are, have some mother-fucking, kick-ass paperwork to do.

Woo hoo.

 _Totally better than making out with Jade_ , you tell yourself, _And/or Karkat_.

Though that last part’s not an option right now, as he said he’d be gone for the day, something about Kanaya needing his help with her ‘cultural exchange and enrichment program’. Seems everybody wants a piece of your boyfriend these days. Your girlfriend as well. And, actually, you’re ok with that.

You never thought you’d find anyone who would really… who would actually love you, what with your layers of ironic bullshit, determination to push everyone away, and just general dickishness, and yet somehow you found not one, but two people who do.   
So you don’t mind the days when they’re needed elsewhere.

Though you used to.

 _That’s it. They’re gone._ You thought, the first time the two of them were both called away _. You fucked it up, Strider. They’ve left you._ Because that’s what people had always _done_.   
But then, they both came back, and they kept coming back each and every damn time and now…

And now, Jade Harley, one of the two (three if you count the mayor, four if you also count apple juice, five if you count ironic lists that stopped being funny after the first two entries, but goddamn it you’ve committed to the joke by that point and have to keep rambling) great loves of your life (Lives? ‘cause technically you have had multiple… Nope. Not going there.)  is currently standing in front of you, in the room the three of you share, wearing one of your shirts (the one with the red selves and the scratched record and damn does she make it look good), a pair of jogging shorts, and a look on her face that says so many things, several of them not fit for polite company.

She looks beautiful, but then again, she always does. Dark skin, curly hair, and eyes that you could drown in.

 _It’s not fair, they’re just so goddamn green_ , you think, the corners of your mouth tugging up into a smile. _It’s not fair_ , you think, as her lips form a pout, and the ears on the top of her head flatten ever so slightly. _It’s not fair_ , you think, as she places one hand on your shoulder, the other at your waist, and pulls you closer.

 _It’s totally fair_ , you think as you fail to not kiss her.

After a few moments, you pull away, but you’re both painting just a little bit, and you notice how smug she looks. Like a cat, or maybe a tiger.   
You’re really not sure if Bec was actually 100% dog, mostly ‘cause you’re pretty sure dogs don’t use their claws the way she does. Or nap so much.

“Seriously, I should do this paperwork…” You protest, more than a little feebly, “Rose is counting on me. And…”

“Oh, come on, Strider, surely you’ve got a little bit of _Time_.” She says, leaning towards you with a smile, and your heart does one of those flips that only she and Karkat can make it do. It jumps, swoops, and tumbles, before starting to thud like the bass in one of your mixes.

If there were an Olympic gymnastics competition for hearts, yours would take Gold, as long as those two were in the audience. _None of the other hearts would stand a fuckin’ chance_ , you think, grinning _, and the routine would be so perfect, that they’d insist on a goddamn inquest to make sure no drugs were used_.

Grin still affixed to your face, you choose your next words carefully.

“Weeell, when you put it that way,” you kiss her cheek, and loop your arm around her waist, “I can’t really,” another kiss, and then you tug her over towards the bed, “say no, now can I?”

“But really, I need to get that paperwork done at some point,” You say, pulling her down onto the mattress, “since Rose said it was, and I’m quoting her here, so you know I’m serious, ‘vitally important to securing the future of any of us actually having any money’.”

“Then I promise I won’t keep you from your ‘vitally important’ work for long,” She pushes you onto your back, and clambers on top of you, straddling your stomach, “just a few minutes of ‘vitally important’ kissing.”

You’re both smiling like a pair of idiots in love (which you are), and you flick your shades towards the bedside table, so you can better focus on her.

Nothing could possibly ruin this moment…

**== > Karkat, ruin the moment. **


	2. In which paperwork is started, but then ignored

**== > Karkat, regret coming home early.**

_FUCK_.

You, uh…

_FUUUCK_.

You really should have stayed to help Kanaya. But you couldn’t take another second of boring, asinine planning.  
And seriously, you love the grubs to death (But not like literally or anything. This ain’t Alternia after all), but they’re so fucking LOUD. It was just too much, and so after you practically threw a fit, Kanaya sent you home, to ‘Relax… And Stop Being _Such_ A Distraction’.

_WELL, AT LEAST THEY’RE WEARING PANTS THIS TIME_ , you think to yourself, having just opened the door to your room to find your boyfriend (matesprit? You really should clear that up with him, because you keep flip-flopping between the terms and it’s a little irritating) and his girlfriend in a… compromising position.

“OH. UH, SORRY…” You hate the way your voice cracks, as your eyes wander around the room, trying not to look at them.

Jade blushes, moving off of Dave, who sits up and looks at you with those red eyes of his and

_SHIT SHIT SHIT HE’S NOT WEARING HIS SHADES WHAT DID I INTERUPT?_

“Nah, don’t worry about it, Kar, we, um, weren’t really doing anything.”

“FUCK, I’M NOT AN IDIOT, STRIDER. JUST… PUT A SOCK ON THE DOOR OR SOMETHING NEXT TIME, OK?”

“It’s not like that, Karkat.” She speaks up, and you can tell she feels, if not bad, more than a little awkward about this, which just makes you feel worse, because…

_I SHOULDN’T BE JEALOUS_ , you tell yourself, looking away, _DAVE AND JADE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT, RIGHT? DOESN’T MEAN HE LOVES ME ANY LESS…_

And yet, you are jealous. Not much, but it’s definitely there, sitting like a hot coal in your chest.  
Now… would probably be a good time to talk to them about this but you really, really don’t want to. You’d rather have to put up with Jack Noir’s constant ‘greetings’ again than have that conversation.

Turning on your heel, you flee the room. As you do, you hear Dave’s voice, “Karkat, hey, wait! Don’t… go…” but that is the last thing you want to do.

You find yourself downstairs, and you seem to be hearing noise from the study.

“OK, WHO THE FUCK BROKE IN THIS TIME!” You growl, drawing your sickle, “BETTER NOT BE EGBERT… I’M NO MOOD FOR SHITTY PRANKS.”

Strangely enough, you find yourself grinning. _This’ll be a good chance to let off some steam_ , you think as you move down the hall. The door is slightly ajar, and you enter by kicking it all the way open. But your battle cry dies in your throat, and exits your mouth as an incredulous cough.

“Oh, hey, Karkat. ‘sup?” The Knight of Time sits at his desk, pouring over some documents.

“DAVE? WHAT THE… BUT… I JUST... WHAT THE FUCK?”

“Dude, I’m from the future, get with the program,” He replies with that laugh of his you could listen to for hours, “Current me didn’t fucking finish this goddamn paperwork on time, so now I gotta drag my own ass out of the fire yet again. I’m like the fucking fire brigade all up in here.”

You fucking hate time shenanigans. Even justified time fuckery sets your teeth on edge, but in this case…

“UH, ALRIGHT THEN. COOL…”

“You wanna talk? I got nothing but time at the moment.”

“YEAH, SURE. THAT’D BE… PRETTY NICE ACTUALLY.”

“Cool. So, what’s rusting your thinkpan at the moment, KK?” He grins, eyes hidden by shades, until he flicks them up, and your heart skips a beat because _damn_.

Just damn. You’d like to just keep staring into his eyes forever.

“Yo, Earth-C to Vantas, you there?”

“YEAH. FUCK. I, UM, JUST REALLY LIKE YOUR EYES, OK?”

He laughs again, and you feel your chest tighten, that hot ember flaring up.

Your voice is heavy with guilt when you speak next.

“LOOK, UH, DON’T GET ME WRONG, I’M HAPPY… I THINK IT’S GREAT. WHAT YOU AND JADE HAVE.”

“AND I FEEL SO FUCKING SHITTY FOR THINKING THIS,” The words spill out of your mouth, and you can’t seem to stop saying things _fuck_ , “BUT IT… IT’S JUST HARD ADJUSTING, AND SOMETIMES I WANT TO GO BACK TO HOW IT WAS BEFORE, Y’KNOW? NOT THAT I DON’T WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, OR ANYTHING, I JUST… LIKED KNOWING THERE WASN’T ANY COMPETITION.”

He stands up, and pulls you into to a hug. You half-expected him to brush you off with an ironic remark, so it takes your brain a moment to figure out what the actual fuck is going on.

“Karkat,” he breathes your name into your ear and you try (and fail) to suppress a shiver, “I love you, for fucks sake. There isn’t a competition.”

“Because, first of all, I’m not some prize for you and Jade to fight over, ok? I’m my own person, and I _want_ to be in a relationship with the two of you. And second of all, I wouldn’t hurt you like that.”

“OH. DAVE, I… I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT.” You try to pull back, but he’s holding you tightly, “I LOVE YOU TOO.”

“I know. But you gotta talk about these things with us, Kar. ‘cause you know how fuckin’ dense I can be, and while Jade has a pretty good intuition, a mind reader she ain’t.”

“OK. I’LL… TRY, BUT, SHIT I REALLY DON’T WANT TO.” You say with a sigh, letting yourself relax into his embrace.

“That’s all I ask. And try to go back upstairs soon. Current me isn’t gonna get much sleep unless you do, and I won’t be able to do this fucking paperwork properly.”

“ALRIGHT… UH, DAVE?”

“Yeah?”

“THANKS.”

“No prob, crabcakes. ‘s what I’m here for.”

  **== > Jade, talk to Dave.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was easier than I expected. Hope there aren't too many OOC things... I'm not quite used to writing Karkat yet.
> 
> Next chapter might take a bit of time.  
> I'm also considering adding an epilogue, so let me know if more domestic Jade/Dave/Karkat fluff would be something you'd like to see.


	3. In which paperwork isn't even mentioned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> It's, uh, been a while.  
> Yeah, life kinda... decided to just... happen a lot, but I hope this chapter was at least sorta worth the wait.  
> Enjoy!

**== > Jade, have a _totally rad_ feelings jam with Dave!**

You’d like to… but Dave needs a few more minutes of moping before he’s ready to talk.

So instead, you simply snuggle a bit closer and lay your head on his chest. Humming softly, more to yourself than him, you try your best to focus on your breath, like Rose and Kanaya taught you.

Though Dave first brushed off the meditation as ‘hippy-dippy bullshit’, he eventually caved and tried it. _And surprise, surprise it did what it was supposed to and helped with the nightmares_ , you think to yourself with a small chuckle.

Unfortunately, you can’t stop the chuckle from strangling itself into a sob, because Karkat seemed really upset this time, and what if you actually ruined his and Dave’s relationship, and what if he leaves, and…

Your boyfriend shifts beside you, wrapping one arm around you, breaking you out of your ‘doubt spiral’, as you’ve taken to calling them, “Dave, I-I…”

“It’s not your fault, y’know. Karkat’s just a little prickly, ‘s all.” He cuts you off, his sense of timing impeccable as usual, “Seriously, if you start blaming yourself for everything, you’ll have more problems than you can shake a stick at, not to mention the stick’ll be on fire and it will be absolutely shitty for everyone involved.”

Dave rolls onto his side, and suddenly you’re looking straight into his eyes again, and it’s really tempting to kiss him again. However you don’t, because you know there will be plenty of time for that later, once you’ve sorted this out.

“Why would I be holding the stick if it’s on fire?” You question, resting your forehead against his, “I’m pretty sure I’m smarter than that.”

“Nah, ‘cause in this case, the stick isn’t just a stick, it’s your tendency to take responsibility for every goddamn little thing, and the fact that you seem to have a need to take care of everyone but yourself,  that verges on some premium, grade-A self-destructive bullshit.”

You blink a couple of times, processing that. It was a lot of words, but you do speak fluent Strider.

“That was… almost Rose-like of you, Dave.”

“Well, I mean, I did spend three fuckin’ years marinating in her psychoanalytical juices, so I was bound to pick up some shit.”

You can’t help but snort at that, as you watch him realize the field-day his ecto-sister would have with his comment. His brow furrows, and somehow manages to look affronted and amused at the same time, “Oh my fuck, that sounded so bad!”

And with that sudden exclamation, you’re both giggling, tears gathering at the corners of your eyes. The giggles turn to straight up laughter, and you take the opportunity to sneak a kiss.

 _It’s nice_ , you think, _being able to just laugh and feel ok_.

“So, putting aside the troubling implications of that statement,” you’re doing your best ‘Rose’ voice, and both of you are struggling to keep a straight face, “What are we going to do about Mister K. Vantas?”

He sighs, his voice hesitant, and tinged with the slightest hint of worry, “We need to talk to him, that’s for sure… I don’t want him to bottle this stuff up, J, it’s not good.”

“I know. And I… Well…” You bite your lip, unsure if you should continue.

“OK, don’t you start clamming up on me now, Harley. If y’do, I can’t promise I won’t tickle you.”

You’re forced to admit that, though something you’d enjoy another time, it wouldn’t be a good thing now, “Alright, alright, I’ll talk.”

He scratches just behind one of the ears on the top of your head in reply, and your whole body hums with pleasure. But your next words are sober.

“I feel like I’m the problem, Dave. You two were happy together, and then…”

“And then nothing, Jade. You’re not a problem, ok? You’re never a problem… If anything, this is my fault, for thinking things’d just work out, like that’s ever fuckin’ happened. But that’s not how relationships work, is it?”

“No, they’re pretty… they’re pretty fucking complicated.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

The two of you spend the next few minutes talking about what you plan on saying to Karkat, lapsing in and out of comfortable silences. Suddenly, your ears pick up the sound of someone on the steps, and you sit up as the door opens.

“HEY.” Karkat seems to have calmed down quite a bit, and gives you a small wave as he walks over to Dave’s side of the bed.

“SHOVE OVER, JACKASS.”

“Love ya too, Karkat.” You can tell he just rolled his eyes, though he moves over nonetheless.

Flopping down onto the mattress, the troll snorted. He takes a moment to get comfortable, shifting around and taking deep breaths.

“SO, UH… FUCK.” He begins, before burying his face in his palms, “I, UM, I-I GUESS, WELL, I’VE BEEN SITTING ON SOME STUFF WE SHOULD HAVE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re all guilty of that, KK.” Dave says, pulling Karkat close. “And ‘s mostly my fault.”

“I assumed that things between the three of us were all done and dusted, but clearly that ain’t true, an’ we need to be able t’be open with each other.”

“Yeah, bottling everything up just leads to… bad things.” You agree, reaching out to pat Karkat’s shoulder, “Pretty sure we’ve seen that more than enough times, right?”

That gets a chuckle from the two of them as they nod, probably remembering some choice outbursts.

After a few moments, Karkat speaks up, voice much quieter than usual, “OK. OK, SHOULD I TALK, THEN?”

You share a glance with Dave, who’ll be taking point on this one, who then says, “Yep, that’d be good.”

“ALRIGHT. BASICALLY, I’VE BEEN… JEALOUS.” He pauses, taking a deep breath in, “JADE, I KNOW YOU’RE DATING DAVE JUST AS MUCH AS I AM, BUT PART OF ME STILL RESENTS… ‘LOSING’ HIM. WHICH IS UNFAIR, BECAUSE I HAVEN’T.”

“THIS RELATIONSHIP, IT’S NOT A CONTEST, AND THINKING OF IT THAT WAY IS…”

“Dumb? Stupid? Fuckin’ bass-ackwards?” Dave supplies, jumping in where Karkat trailed off.

“YEAH. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.”

“Karkat, I’m…” You begin, but an apology just doesn’t feel right, so you change course, “Thank you for telling me. I didn’t realize…”

“OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T, I NEVER SAID ANYTHING UNTIL NOW,” He snorts, crossing his arms, “SERIOUSLY, YOU HUMANS REALLY NEED TO DIAL BACK YOUR MARTYR COMPLEXES BEFORE THEY GET ONE OF YOU KILLED. OH WAIT, THAT’S ALREADY HAPPENED, LIKE, WAY TOO MANY TIMES, SO MAYBE DON’T STRESS SO MUCH?”

“I’D… MISS YOU. IF YOU WERE GONE.”

The wording is a little combative, but you know Karkat well enough to understand that basically, he just told you that he ‘doesn’t blame you, and thinks you worry too much’.  In fact, it’s borderline mushy, which makes you giggle.

“Alright, I’ll try. I know I wasn’t exactly… an expected part of this relationship.”

Dave interjects, taking hold of your hand with his free one, “But you’re an important part. You both are so goddamn important to me, OK?”

Meeting Karkat’s eyes, you both nod.

“YEAH, WE’RE PRETTY GREAT. YOU REALLY LUCKED OUT, STRIDER.” He grins, leaning over to pull you into a hug that, while awkward at first, feels great.  

Suddenly, Dave shifts, extracting himself from the jumble of limbs, clambering over you to grab his glasses from the nightstand and shove them onto his face, “You goddamn nerds and your dumb feelings.”

You could point out that his voice is rough with emotion, or bring up the small sniffle you heard as he moved past you, but you don’t; now, more than ever, you know he’ll talk about it when he’s ready.

**== > The three of you, just go to sleep already. **


End file.
